WIESENTHAL CENTER: SILENCE IN FACE OF TODAY’S SUICIDE TERROR GUARANTEES FURTHER ATTACKS

February 13, 2009

WIESENTHAL CENTER: SILENCE IN FACE OF TODAY’S SUICIDE TERROR GUARANTEES FURTHER ATTACKS

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading voice in designating suicide terror as ‘crime against humanity’, is condemning today’s suicide bombing in Iskanderiya, Iraq which murdered at least 40, many of whom were women and children. The bomber was a woman, reflecting a terrible trend in the use of suicide terror. In an interview with the Associated Press, a recently arrested terror plotter said that her group raped young women and then told them that the only way to win back their honor would be to become suicide bombers.

“This latest Muslim on Muslim horrific scenario has tragically failed to generate condemnation from religious leaders, women’s rights and human rights NGOs,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center. “So long as these important sectors stand by passively, so long as the international community fails to institute legal measures against the patrons of suicide terror, the toll from such inhumane attacks will only continue to soar,” he added.

“The bottom line is that suicide terror will only stop when the streets of the world’s capitals will be filled with protestors demanding action,” Cooper concluded.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

For more information contact the Center's Public Relations department, 310-553-9036.